Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Guillermo del Toro in his notes for his latest film Pan's Labyrinth says "Fairytale logic is not linear, it's random". This idea appeals to me in constructing the movie version of Costak. There is already a linear crime story which I hope to find (microfilm archives in Ataturk Library, Taksim, Istanbul) in it's extended version as it was serialized in possibly Tercuman newspaper pre-1972. But Costak is different and involves a modern story and shifting moments from Petri's life enhanced with images, feelings and songs. The historic realities of the day will be in the background. However it will not interfere with his behavior. How interesting this randomness can be is a challange of course.

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Costak and Lefteri Kaptan as Ganymede and Zeus. The slaying of Lefteri kaptan adds another 'killing of the missing father' angle to the story

Ganymede by Mia GibsonGanymede is the young, beautiful boy that became one of Zeus' lovers. One source of the myth says that Zeus fell in love with Ganymede when he spotted him herding his flock on Mount Ida. Zeus then came down in the form of an eagle or sent an eagle to carry Ganymede to Mount Olympus where Ganymede became cupbearer to the gods. According to other accounts, Eos kidnapped Ganymede, to be her lover, at the same time she kidnapped Tithonus. Zeus then robbed Eos of Ganymede, in return granting Eos the wish that Tithonus be immortal. Unthinkingly, Eos forgot to ask that Tithonus remain youthful. Everyday, the faithful Eos watched over Tithonus, until one day she locked him in a room and left him to get old by himself.

Upon hearing that Ganymede was to be cup bearer as well as Zeus' lover, the infinitely jealous Hera was outraged. Therefor Zeus set Ganymede's image among the stars as the constellation Aquarius, the water carrier. Aquarius was originally the Egyptian god over the Nile. The Egyptian god poured water not wine from a flagon.

All of Zeus' scandalous liaisons have allegorical meanings. Some sources say that Zeus' affair with Ganymede was a (religious) justification for homosexuality within the Greek culture, yet others state that this is merely a reflection of Greek life at that time. Before the popularity of the Zeus and Ganymede myth spread, however, the only toleration for sodomy was an external form of goddess worship. Cybele's male devotees tried to achieve unity with her by castrating themselves and dressing like women.

Apollodorus argued that this myth emphasized the victory of patriarchy over matriarchy. This showed that men did not need women to exist, therefor they did not need the attentions of women. The philosopher Plato used this myth to justify his sexual feelings towards male pupils.

Wednesday, July 05, 2006

Petri lived in a ruined shack in a bostan(large garden for growing vegetables). The are known as Bostan Neighborhood is now part of the Beyoglu (Pera) District and is inhabited mostly by Romany (Gypsy) families. The pub he frequented on Kalyoncu Kulluk was nearby. During De Amicis visit in 1870's the creek that gave it's name to the area Dolapdere was dry. Since the creek required a device called "dolap" to raise water it had a week run. One of the side strets are called Dere Ustu today.

Edmondo De Amicis (October 21, 1846—March 12, 1908), is a notable Italian novelist, journalist, and short-story writer. Journeying to Constantinople by boat, Edmondo De Amicis is initially dismayed to discover that his first glimpse of this much-awaited city will be obscured by fog. Yet, as he will come to appreciate, the slow unveiling of rooftops, domes and minarets is in fact the best introduction to Constantinople he could wish for. Throughout his stay in this most cosmopolitan of cities – with Greeks, Turks, Armenians, Gypsies, Catholics and Jews sewn together in a patchwork of life – he encounters the inhabitants’ endless vitality, in a city which provides an inexhaustible source of beauty and mystery. Costantinopoli (1878)

I had De Amicis' text ready when I came to Istanbul. For he had seen what I cannot see today' - Umberto Eco (from his foreword)

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

Early Istanbul hotels differed from the traditional han (caravanserai) and provided a bed instead of an empty room. Mostly operated by minority Christians and some other nationalities, the Galata hotels were the first to emerge due to the proximity of the port and they used western names to increase their appeal to foreigners. Some recorded names were Hotel de Marins (Sailors’ Hotel), Hotel de Voilier (Hotel of Sailboat) and Hotel de Marseille.

In 1874 Petri the Knife slashed his protector Lefteri Kaptan to death in Hotel de Marseille. He was about 17-18 years old. The hotel was described as a two story structure with two bed and three beds with a capacity of 24 guests. On the murder night the police recorded 58 inhabitants at the hotel.

Monday, June 12, 2006

"Children in Byzantine Monasteries"Richard GreenfieldMany, perhaps a majority, of those involved in the world of Byzantine monasticism clearly believed that the monastery or convent was no place for children, just as it was not a place for eunuchs or members of the opposite sex. Others, however, could not so easily forget the exhortation of Jesus in the Gospel to "Let the children come to me," nor the precedent set by influential individuals in the early history of monasticism who did permit children in their foundations. As a result, despite frequent prohibitions and dire warnings of the consequences, children appear quite regularly within the fabric of Byzantine monastic life. It is evident that they were present in many communities throughout the period, albeit usually in small numbers and under carefully controlled circumstances.

In the late seventh century, the Sixth Ecumenical Council established the age of ten as the minimum at which a child might begin life in a monastery, but most later monastic founders and commentators set the bar much higher at the mid-teens to the early twenties. The temptations of sexual misconduct were always prominent in the minds of ascetics and monastic regulators, and the fear that the presence of beardless youths might prove too much for the monks clearly lies behind most attempts to exclude them. Also at work in such prohibitions, however, was evidently a desire to prevent women or eunuchs slipping undetected into monasteries, to ensure that vows were taken only by those who knew what they were doing, to forestall the ordinary distractions that might be produced by frivolous and irresponsible youths and girls, and to keep monks and nuns from the attachments of family life. The ban on children was extended in some places to cover not only those testing a vocation but also those who might be brought to an institution out of need (orphans or beggars, for example), in the course of everyday life (on errands or on feast days, perhaps), or in the course of work (such as apprentices or the offspring of manual laborers).

Such attempts to exclude children ran largely counter to the practice and sentiment evident in monastic institutions of the early Byzantine period, however, and it is clear that many individuals and communities in the later centuries, even during the period of reform, still saw no need to comply with the wishes of the rigorists. Hagiographies thus abound with saints and monastic founders who flee their families at a very early age and find a welcome in the monastic communities for which they pine, while relatives of prominent monks and nuns are adopted in their infancy and reared within the institution, often becoming ascetics and monastic administrators in their own right. At the same time orphans are cared for, prospective monastic or clerical candidates are educated and trained, young relatives are allowed to visit, youthful servants and workers are employed, and sick or possessed children are treated. Typically in the Byzantine world, behind the rhetoric of principled declarations and legal documents requiring the exclusion of children from monasteries, lies a rather different reality where children flit through the shadows of the courtyard and peep from the doorways of the outbuildings and dependencies of the monastic community.|Dumbarton Oaks, Washington DC | Byzantine Studies 2006 Spring Symposium | April 28–30, 2006 Becoming Byzantine: Children and Childhood in Byzantium

Saturday, June 10, 2006

Petri the Knife also belonged to this knife obsessed culture. Honor, Masculinity, and Ritual Knife Fighting in Nineteenth-Century GreeceTHOMAS W. GALLANT On the sweltering night of July 26, 1830, Tonia Theodoros from the village of Agios Theodoros on the island of Kerkyra brutally slashed the face of his fellow villager Gioragachi Mokastiriotis. Theodoros then spit on his prostrate victim and left the wine shop where the incident had occurred, while five other men, including the proprietor Panos Landates, looked on. Ten days later, Constable Andreas Sallas approached Theodoros, served him with an arrest warrant, and took him into custody on the charge of assault with a deadly weapon. At his trial in police court on August 28, the various versions of Theodoros's assault on Mokastiriotis were recounted. There had been bad blood between the men for some time; no one was quite sure why. That night at the bar, both had been drinking heavily when Theodoros called Mokastiriotis a fool and a braggart. Mokastiriotis loudly replied that he would rather be a fool than "the lord of a house full of Magdalenes." Theodoros erupted from his chair, drew his pruning knife, and demanded that Mokastiriotis stand and face him like a man. None of the other men in the room intervened as the knife-fighters traded parries and thrusts. Finally, Theodoros with a flick of his wrist delivered a telling blow that cut his victim from the tip of his chin to halfway up his cheek. As the blood flowed, Mokastiriotis fell to his knees cursing his assailant. When asked by the presiding magistrate at the police magistrate's court in the town of Kerkyra why he started fighting, Theodoros sternly replied that no man would call his wife and daughters whores and get away with it. His reputation would not allow it. As a man, he would not stand for it.Full text archive

"Costak" soundtrack uses the sounds of the area Petri lived and includes a song played by a Greek lyra. A closely related instrument of of the Black Sea kemence. Here is a nice folk belief relating to music provess and a Cretan hilted dagger.

"Whoever wants to become a good lyra - player should go to an isolated crossroads at midnight. First he should trace a circle on the ground with a black - hilted dagger, then enter it, stay there and start playing the lyra. A little later the Fairies will come and start hanging around him. Their purpose is not good, they want to do him harm, but since they cannot enter the circle, which has been traced with a black - hilted dagger, they try to lure him out in every possible way. They use blarney, they sing him nice songs, they wheedle him in a thousand and one different ways, but if he is wise, he must remain calm and continue to play the lyra without leaving the circle. If they fail, they invite him out of the circle in order to teach him how to play the lyra better. He must refuse. Then they will ask him to give them the lyra. The lyra - player should give it, cautious to let his arm or other part of his body out of the circle, because it will be amputated or he will go insane.

Then a Fairy starts playing the lyra with great virtuosity and afterwards they return the lyra to him, hoping that he will be persuaded to leave the circle and they will be able to harm him". According to the description of Nikos Politis, the continuous interchange of the instrument between the Fairies and the lyra - player, without anyone of them passing the limits of the circle traced with the black - hilted dagger, continues all night long until the first cock crows. Then they ask him to give them something of his own and they promise to teach him how to play the lyra like them in return. The lyra - player usually gives them one of his nails and they in turn teach him how to play the lyra with great virtuosity and then disappear at daybreak.

For this reason, in earlier times, if a lyra player played his instrument with outstanding virtuosity, he used to say: "What do you think? I learnt to play the lyra at the crossroads".

Greek knife from the Isle of Crete. The knife was made in the city of Khanya and dated 1951. Hilt has traditional "two eared" style reminiscent of Turkish yataghan, and is most likely goat or cow bone with a working-life repair to one side of the v-notch. The Cretans have been known as "the people of the dagger" since knives are worn as part of male and female folk costume, and knife making and decoration is a handicraft relatively widely practised.

Part of the "Costak" preproduction involves planning the visual style of the murders. The passion or the reason involved in the murder seems more to the point than blood being spilt everywhere. "Costak" is not about gore but things that might terrify us beyond gore. What helps in this view is the method used by Petri. Most of Petri's murders are committed with a knife to the heart. A side benefit to a murder like this is less blood squirting out since heart almost immediately stops pumping blood.

Galata Petri at a Kuledibi brothelNight of flames at Horoz StreetPetri meets two lovers that nightAliki, young prostitute her young lover AhileaKalikratya They take Petri to Kalikratya fishermen's villagePetri hides at KalikratyaPetri finds a peaceful existenceAhilea Andoni "suslu balikci"Aliki and Ahilea live in fear since they know who Petri isPetri learns of Canto singer Peruz from the fishermenGalata Trip to Casino with the fishermen | Galata Avrupa Gazinosu She is her Peruz and in the arms of a navy sailor at the barMurder #14 | AhmedKnife ?Salipazari Someone recognises and follows PetriMurder #15 | HasanKnife to the heartA few moments later petri is on board a shipThere is no hope of going back to KalikratyaTophane Andon Kaptan, a night thief helps Petri's escapeto OdessaOdessa Petri finds work as a stoker. S/s Ayvazofski, a Russian shipKefalonians only works in Greek boatsPetri is safe from the Avengers from Kefaloniyaat sea Captain's wife Alexandra is after PetriAlexanda and Petri find a night of love in a lifeboatKöstence Next day Petri runs away in Rumanian port of Köstence Befriends Milolis of SilePetri returns to Istanbul on board a Greek boatPetri's first sight is a young prostitute MagdalenaMagdalena is Kiryakica, Lefteri Kaptan's daughterPetri can not recognize herThey make love at Magdalena's roomEarly morning…Petri leavesLambo, a sailor and young brother of Lefteri kaptan waitsPetri was also Lambo's zenane for four yearsEarly morning ambushGalata Last Murder | Death of Petri by Lambo 8/28/1880Petri file closes once more

Mt. AthosPetri stays at Haci Kosta VatakisPetri grows beardVatakis has a young priest's helper (comez) called ApostolosApostolos (Vatakis calls him Spartakus)Petri and Apostolos are bed matesAvenges look for Petri for more deathsZahari arrives and befriends Apostolos The two plot a plan to kill Petri

Cargees, or Watermen of the BosphorusSketch in A Coffee-House, ConstantinopleSeller of Sweetmeats, ConstantinopleSketches of character and costume in Constantinople, Ionian Islands &c. from the original drawings made on the spot by Capt'n. Forbes Mac Bean, 92nd Highlanders, lithographed by J. Sutcliffe (published 1854)

Costume that once belonged to an Aid-de-Camp of Capodistria, First Governor of Greece. Museum of Popular Art, Nafplio, Greece. Special features of this costume are the long foustanella and the silk turban worn by the wealthy around their fez. Over the red silk sash men wore a gold selachi finely embroidered.

This particular costume has three jackets: the inner ghileki, second the fermeli with sleeves worn properly (not thrown over the shoulders), and the fermeloto guileki worn on top.

1853: Start of the Crimean War with Russia, which, though won with British, French and Sardinian aid, further demonstrated how backward the Ottoman military had become.1856: Establishment of a united Romanian autonomous state.Abdulmecid Ottoman sultan (ruled 1839-1861)Abdülaziz Ottoman sultan (ruled 1861–76)

Balkan discontent was fanned by nationalist agitation supported by Serbia and by émigré Slav organizations. It culminated in uprisings largely of Christian peasants against Muslim lords in Bosnia and Herzegovina (July 1875) and in Bulgaria (August 1876). Ottoman efforts to suppress the uprisings led to war with Serbia and Montenegro (July 1876) and to attempts by European powers to force Ottoman reforms.1876 : Occupation of Cyprus by Britain. Perhaps more significant than external changes were the internal political developments that brought about the first Ottoman constitution on Dec. 23, 1876Mehmed Murad V Ottoman sultan (ruled May 30- August 31 1876).Abdülhamid II Ottoman sultan (ruled 1876–1909) (clipping above) Troops from Jerusalem arriving at Stamboul, Constantinople.

1877: Another war with Russia (Russo-Turkish War, 1877–1878).1878: March 3 Treaty of San Stefano - recognition of Romanian and Serbian independence, as well as the establishment of an autonomous Bulgarian principality under nominal Ottoman protection. Austria-Hungary occupies Bosnia by default.1881: As the Empire celebrates its 600th anniversary, Tunisia becomes a French colony. (December 1881) the Ottoman public debt was reduced from £191,000,000 to £106,000,000, certain revenues were assigned to debt service, and a European-controlled organization, the Ottoman Public Debt Administration (OPDA), was set up to collect the payments.

Wednesday, May 31, 2006

The inhabitants of Tatavla where Petri found refuge and anonimity were mainly resettled by the Ottomans with the Greeks of Mani region. They worked mostly at the admiralty shipyards of Kasimpasa by Halic/Golden Horn. The region where they came was mountainous and inaccessible hence they historically must have developed sailing skills. Homer's "Catalogue of ships in the Iliad mentions the cities of Mani: Messi, Vitilon (Itilo), Kardamli (or Skardamoula), Enopi, Gerinia, Pefnos, Avia, Githio, Kotronas, etc.

The Maniots (or Maniates; Greek: Μανιάτες)

The Mani Peninsula, also known as Maina, is a region in Greece. The Mani is the central peninsula of the three which extend southwards from the Peloponnese in southern Greece. The name "Mani" is thought to have originally meant "dry" or "treeless." Administratively, The Mani is divided between the districts of Laconia and Messenia. Messenian Maniot surnames almost uniformly end in -eas, whereas Laconian Maniot ones in -akos.

Homer refers to a number of towns in the Mani region. The area was occupied by the Dorians in about 1200 BC, and became a dependency of Sparta. The Mani was self-governing for a time before being absorbed into the Roman Empire in the 2nd century. As the power of the Byzantine Empire declined in the 9th century AD, the fortress of Maini in the south became the area's centre. After the fall of Constantinople to the Fourth Crusade in 1204, Italian and French knights (known to the Greeks as Franks), occupied parts of the Peloponnese. In 1249 the Mani was occupied by the Venetians, who made it one of the twelve baronies of the Principality of Moreas and built the fortresses of Mystras, Passavas, Gustema (Beaufort) and Megali Maini.

In 1460 Mystras fell to the Ottomans, but the Mani was not subdued and retained its internal self-government in exchange for an annual tribute. The Maniots continued to bear arms and sporadically refused to pay levies and taxes imposed by the Ottomans. The Maniots survived by becoming pirates. Very ferocious closely-knit clans united by blood evolved. Local chieftains or beys governed Mani on behalf of the Ottomans. As Ottoman power declined, the mountains of the Mani became a stronghold of the kleftes, bandits who also fought against the Ottomans. There is evidence of a sizeable Maniot emigration to Corsica sometime during the Ottoman years. The last bey of Mani, Petros Mavromichalis was among the leaders of the Greek War of Independence. He proclaimed the revolution at Areopoli on 17 March 1821. The Maniots contributed greatly to the struggle, but once Greek independence was won they wanted to retain their local autonomy. During the reign of Ioannis Kapodistrias they violently resisted outside interference. The Mani's local autonomy was abolished in 1870, and the area gradually became a backwater as the inhabitants abandoned the land through emigration.

Etymologically, the name "Maniot" is a diminutive implying "of Mani". Geographically, the peninsula itself is an extension of the Taygetus mountain range. Throughout history, the Maniots have been known by their neighbors and their enemies as fierce warriors, proudly independent, who practice blood feuds – so fierce and savage, in fact, that they have been compared to the Nordic Berserkers. At times they were even referred to as the "super soldiers" of the 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th and early to mid 19th centuries. Napoleon Bonaparte addressed to them as "Spartan descendants" and Theodoros Kolokotronis (leader of the Greek War of Independence) called them "The Spartans".

Their surnames uniformly end in "-eas" in what is now the Messenian part of Mani, "-akos" in what is now the Laconian part of Mani and the occasional "-oggonas". The Maniot "-akos" is not to be confused with the Cretan "-akis", which was introduced into Mani by the first Cretan refugees who fled Crete once the Ottomans eventually fully occupied Crete in 1669. The Maniot "akos" denotes strength, power andmasculinity as opposed to the Cretan "akis" which denotes weakness, being small, and being effeminate in nature.

During the early modern period, the Maniots were renowned pirates with Oitylo having the nickname Great Algiers. For the most part, the Maniots lived in fortified villages (and "house-towers") where they defended their lands against the Ottomans and even against the armies of William II Villehardouin .Dances
Two dances come from Mani: Palio Maniatiko (meaning "Old Maniot") and the Modern Maniatiko. The Palio Maniatiko is only found in Mani and is described as an ancient dance. The Modern Maniatiko is the modern version of the Palio Maniatiko dance and includes certain aspects of the Kalamatiano dance in it. Like the Palio Maniatiko, it is only performed in Mani.Piracy "If any ship come to anchor on their coast, many arm themselves and go to the place, over against where the ship doth ride; some of them will be in priests habits, walking by the sea side, with their wallets, in which they will have some wine and bread. Their companions lye hid behind the bushes at some convenient post. When any strangers come ashore, who do not understand their language, the feigned priests make signes to them, shewing them their bread and wine, which they offer to them for money, by which the strangers being enticed from the sea side (and it may be to sit down and taste their wine) the hidden Manjotts come and make their prey. The priests will seem to be sorry, and endeavor to make the strangers to believe they were altogether ignorant of any such design. So a white flagg is put out, and a treaty held with the ship for their ransome. The priests endeavor to moderate the price, showing a great deal of respect to their companions, who are clothed in Turkish habits. Many ships have been thus served." Bernard Randolph, Present State of the Morea. Part of Maniot culture involved piracy. The Maniots were famous and fearsome pirates whose ships dominated the Maniot coastline. The Maniots became pirates because Mani was not a very fertile land and the Maniots did not have many natural resources. The Maniots considered piracy a legitimate response to the fact that their land was poor, and it became their main source of income.[83] The pirate raids were not stopped by the local priests of the Eastern Orthodox Church, who in fact blessed the ships before they left and sometimes accompanied them on raids. Most of the Maniot pirates came from Messa Mani.[84] The main victims of Maniot pirates were the Ottomans, but the Maniots also targeted ships of powerful European countries. Superstition The Maniots are a very superstitious people. Maniots mainly believe in witches, demons, vampires, and ghosts. When Henry Herbert, 3rd Earl of Carnarvon, was touring Mani in 1839, he found a fresh egg by the side of the road and offered it to a Maniot soldier who escorted him, who declined the offer claiming that if a hag had enchanted it he would have to marry her. The Maniots thought that certain areas were haunted by demons. Vendettas Another important aspect of Maniot culture were the vendettas which frequently plagued Mani. Usually, the decision to start a vendetta was made at a family gathering. The main aim of a vendetta was usually to wipe out the other family. The families involved locked themselves in their towers and whenever they got the chance murdered members of the opposing family.[86] The other families in the village normally locked themselves in their towers in order not to get in the way of the fighting. Some vendettas went on for months, sometimes years. In vendettas, the families could have a truce or treva, if one family needed to attend a religious ceremony or when it was time to harvest the crops. As soon as the treva ended, the killing could resume. Vendettas usually ended when one family was exterminated or when the defeated family left the town. Sometimes families came to terms, and vendettas stopped when the Turks invaded. The longest treva occurred when the Mavromichales declared war on the Turks in 1821. Vendettas continued after the liberation of Greece even though the Regency tried to demolish the towers.

Educated at Surp Lusavorcyan. After his divorce in 1895 found herself on stage with the support of her cousin Peruz and became one of the most famous Canto singers of Istanbul (1900-1925). married to Aleksan Hagopyan (1909). She also performed at the theaters of Sevki bey and Kel Hasan Companies and with Nasit Ozcan until 1935. She composed solos, duettos and cantos.

Saturday, May 27, 2006

Petri was living on the fringes of Tatavla. The early life of Zaharoff gives a good indication of the opprtunistic life style and street smarts of the time.Sir Basil Zaharoff, originally Zacharias Basileios, (1849, Muğla, Turkey - 1936, Monte Carlo, Monaco) was a Greek-Russian arms trader and financier, the director and chairman of the Vickers-Armstrong munitions firm during the World War I. It was said that he fuelled conflicts in order to sell weapons to both sides.Early lifeBasil was from a Greek family in Constantinople. The name Zaharoff was adopted when the family was in exile in Russia as a result of the anti-Greek Easter pogroms (1)of 1821. The family returned to Turkey in the 1840s and lived in the Anatolian town of Muğla. By 1855 the family was back in Constantinople where they lived in the poor quarter of Tatavla where Basil was a street kid.

Little Basil’s first job was as a guide for the tourists to the Galata, or prostitution district of Constantinople, helping his clients to find the forbidden pleasures that went beyond the bounds of normal prostitution. He was then to become a fireman. The 19th century firemen of Constantinople were not at all effective at extinguishing fires, but were quite effective at rescuing the treasures of the rich for a healthy commission. Many also engaged in protection rackets and outright robbery.

Basil then took on the job of a money changer. In this career there is an unverified accusation that he would pass counterfeit currency to tourists who would not notice until they were safely on a boat steaming away from Constantinople

(1) A pogrom (from Russian: meaning "wreaking of havoc") is a massive violent attack on a particular ethnic or religious group with simultaneous destruction of their environment (homes, businesses, religious centers). The term has historically been used to denote massive acts of violence, either spontaneous or premated, against Jews, but has been applied to similar incidents against other minority groups. Massive violent attacks against Jews date back at least to the Crusades or earlier, but the first pogrom is often considered to be the 1821 anti-Jewish riots in Odessa after the death of the Greek patriarch in Constantinople, in which 14 Jews were killed. St Gregory V, Archbishop of Constantinople, occupied the Patriarchal throne three times (1797-1799, 1806-1808, 1819-1821 AD). On the day of Holy Pascha, April 10, 1821 AD, St Gregory was hanged before the doors of the Patriarchate. Those doors have remained shut since that day. After three days, the Saint's body was sold to a Jewish mob, who dragged his body through the streets, then threw it into the sea.

Thursday, May 25, 2006

The day after Tyrofagis Sunday is Kathara Deftera (ΚΑΘΑΡΑ ΔΕΥΤΕΡΑ) which in Greek means "Clean Monday", and its the 1st day of Lent. End of February beginning of March. A first Monday for sure, not only the residents of Tatavla (1) but denizens of other neigborhoods (2) enjoys life at the bars like Ararat, Panoroma, Akrapolis, Paris, Lemonia. And Petri was hiding in Bostan District in a garden shack in half ruins. Did he don a mask and joined the crowds? Was Tahta Kilise/ Wood Church standing nearby? Church of the Annunciation of the Mother of God, at Tatavla foothils is not yet built in its place at the parish of the Virgin Evangelistria Propodon.

On this Shrove Monday (Kathara Deftera) He is alone and can only dream the flatbread (lagana), the kite, the olives, the fasolada and tarama salad…Picture of Peruz dimly lit by a window sill. Dragoman still waiting for him at a Kalyoncu Kulluğu dive? In love. Drunk?.. and suddenly a joyful Laterna music was heard...

(1) Tatavla, area known in Byzantine times as the Tabula which means "horse stable" in Greek, is a cosmopolitan neighbourhood of Şişli today called Kurtulus whose population consists of Turks, Albanians, Armenians, Greeks, Assyrians, Kurds, Jews and Alevis. It was originally built as a residential area reserved for Ottoman citizens of Greek descent. First settled by Greeks from the Mani who worked in the Imperial Ottoman dockyards of Kasımpaşa. To the Greek visitor it aroused similar and even stronger emotions than the Rio dei Greci in Venice and the Griechengasse in Vienna. Till the mid 18th century Tatavla was one of the most distinctly working-class neighbourhoods - a legendary neighbourhood nonetheless, known indeed as 'legendary Tatavla'. It was remarkable for its dashing young men (Bishop Pamphilos Melissinos dubbed them "spirited and mettlesome "), young men who would not hesitate to take on the gendarmes who overstepped the bounds and became excessively oppressive, and for the efficiency of their volunteer fire-fighters and renowned housewives: 'a Tatavlian housewife' was high praise for the mistress of a house.

See also:Greek Archives, Vol. 9: Constantinople in Old RecordingsandGuardians of Hellenism, Vol. 5 This album has a good mix of popular music styles from Constantinople and its environs dating to the 18th and 19th century.

Reşat Ekrem KOÇU serailaized the story of Petri the Knife the Monster of Galata. I have not seen this and I am trying to locate clippings or microfilms. There is an abridged version from Istanbul Ansiklopedisi that was the basis of "Costak, the Movie"

Historian, novel and storywriter (b. 1905, İstanbul - d. 7 July 1975). He was a graduate of Bursa High School (1927), İstanbul University, Faculty of Literature (1931). He taught history at İstanbul Kuleli Military High School, Pertevniyal and Vefa High Schools.

He is known for his research in the field of history. His columns and interviews about history were published in journals and reviews. He died before he completed the encyclopedia İstanbul Ansiklopedisi (İstanbul Encyclopedia, 1944-51, 1958-71, 11 volumes).

He was writing in the journal Tercüman before he died. He is buried in Sahrayı Cedit Graveyard. Doğan Publishing House started reprinting his works in 2002.

Sunday, May 21, 2006

This plan gives a good idea of the streets of Galata and its environs during Petri's times.Plan de Galata de l'Annuaire Oriental au 1/4000ème, dessiné par l'ingénieur Godeffroy (1891)(click on image to enlarge)

Barbo:Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese: from barbo ‘barbel’ (the fish), hence a metonymic occupational name for a fisherman or possibly pub owner since fishermen opened these original pubs to begin with.

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Detailed map of Mt. Athos where Perti found refuge with the fishermen.(Detail from Map)The Balkans. Entitled Turkey and Greece, this map by Edward Weller, Issued by Blackie & Son about 1875

Mt Athos/Ayranoz is an island famous with its monastery established during the period of the Ottoman Empire on cliffs near Greece. This place, which the Orthodox women cannot enter even today, represents Christianity with its a thousand-year old history. 'Mara Hatun', the mother of Fatih Sultan Mehmet, sends a message to the priest of Ayronaz when Fatih is the shahzade. She says that the shahzade is indulgent for other religions and it is good to ask for intercession in advance. Thereupon, the priest visits Fatih and asks for intercession. 'Hz Ömer used to send firmans (imperial order), by sealing the print of his own hand, to the cities he conquered when he spread Islam and make promises that their rights would not be interfered.
Fatih Sultan Mehmet also sends a firman with a seal of Hz Ömer’s hand to Ayranoz after he conquered Istanbul. Today, there are many Ottoman artworks in Ayranoz, along with this firman.

Santa Maura/Leukadia and Cephalonia(Detail from Map)The Balkans. Entitled Turkey and Greece, includes the provinces of Roumania, Servia, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Montenegro, as well as Moldavia, Roumelia and Greece. Map by Edward Weller. Issued by Blackie & Son about 1875.formerly Levkás (both: lfkäs´)or Leucas (l´ks), mountainous island (1991 pop. 19,350), c.115 sq mi (300 sq km), W Greece, in the Ionian Sea; one of the Ionian Islands. Lefkás (1991 pop. 6,344), the chief town and the capital of Lefkás prefecture, is at the northern end of the island. Olive oil, currants, wine, and tobacco are produced. The island was colonized (7th cent. B.C.) by Corinthians, and Corinth and Lefkás were allies in the Peloponnesian War. Lefkás later was the capital of the Acarnanian League (3d cent. B.C.). The island was captured (1697) from the Ottoman Turks by Venice, which held it until 1797. There are ruins of Cyclopean walls and a temple to Apollo Leukates. Sappho is said, probably falsely, to have committed suicide by plunging into the sea from a cliff of the island. Lefkás is also known as Santa Maura.

Sunday, May 14, 2006

Since Costak is a fictional story based on Petri the Blade all events were re-structured, re-arranged and murders do not replicate the descriptions of real life police reports of 1880's.

Costak Basic Structure (90 min. Breakdown of events)

Opening Titles Dipsamena, Dipsamena Petri's Tavern Song (01:45)

Part I (45 min.) "I die everyday"1880 Petri's death in a Galata cul-de-sac (05:00)MURDER 1 Kefalonians get their man Blood FeudToday Dishwasher kills a man and jumps to his death from the police station (08:00)MURDER 2 hotel kitchen Innuendo1865 A Mother's Love (01:00)1865 Daskalos rapes Petri (07:00)Today Curator is trying to get the slippers from the dishwashers apartment (03:00)1870 Petri's first murder (06:00)MURDER 3 Aya Mavri Kafeneion Escape

Part II (45 min.) "My name is Petri "Today Curator talks to shoemaker in Istanbul (05:00)Life at Sea With Lefteri Kaptan (15:00)MURDER 4 LEFTERI KAPTAN at Hotel de Marseille MoneyLife of Petri The Monster of Galata (28:00)MURDER 5 Policeman on Cadde-i Kebir RebelMURDER 6 Dragoman in Galata Mercy "This my love will end your pain"MURDER 7 Eshter on the ship Escape from a LoverMURDER 8 Sailor at the Pirincci Music Hall and Gazino JealousyToday Curator finishes the notes (02:00)1865 A Mother's Love (07:00) "I will live forever"End Credits (01:15)

Part I (45 min.) I die everyday Songs 2/3/4/51880 Petri's death in a Galata cul-de-sac (05:00)Song 2 Istanbul LaternaToday Dishwasher kills a man and jumps to his death from the police station (08:00)1865 A Mother's Love (01:00)Song 3 Costak Theme1865 Daskalos rapes Petri (07:00)Song 4 Island Song from Ionian Seas 1Today Curator is trying to get the slippers from the dishwashers apartment (03:00)1870 Petri's first murder (06:00)Song 5 Tavern Song 1

Part I (45 min.) I die everyday Songs 2/3/4/51880 Petri's death in a Galata cul-de-sac (05:00)Today Dishwasher kills a man and jumps to his death from the police station (08:00)1865 A Mother's Love (01:00)1865 Daskalos rapes Petri (07:00)Today Curator is trying to get the slippers from the dishwashers apartment (03:00)1870 Petri's first murder (06:00)

Part II (45 min.) My name is Petri Songs 6/7/8/9/10Today Curator talks to shoemaker in Istanbul (05:00)Life at Sea With Lefteri Kaptan (15:00)Life of Petri The Monster of Galata (28:00)Today Curator finishes the notes (02:00)1865 A Mother's Love (07:00)

These are some of the locations Petri sailed in the Mediterannean. I do not know if Lefteri Kaptan used a similar map.

Kephalas. [Nautical map of the eastern Mediterranean], in Greek. Paris: Nikolaos Kefalas, 1818. 1 map. 97 x 66,5 cm. with 2 insets: Dardanelles hydrographic maps. This is the first chart to be constructed by the sea captain and adventurer Nikolaos Kephalas.

Between the 14th and early 17th centuries, portolan (or pilot-book) charts provided the main navigational aids between the seaports of the world. The term portolan (from the Italian 'portolano') refers to written sailing directions for seafarers. By networks of lines indicating the direction of one port from another, navigators were able to set their necessary courses. From such works, accumulated over generations, the first marine charts were drawn.

The young Gros moved his Salon audience in 1801, with his unearthly Sappho at Leucate, in which the poetess, in agonies of rejection, casts herself into the sea. Touched by the moonlight shimmering through her transparent veil, Sappho seems poised between two worlds; behind her on the cliffs stands a sacrificial altar.

Lefkada, or Leucas (Greek: Modern: Λευκάδα, Ancient/Katharevousa: -as) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, connected to the mainland by a long causeway and floating bridge, as well as the island's capital city.

Sappho, an artistic notion of the Greek poet by Charles-August Mengin (1877).

The myth about Sappho's suicide at Cape Lefkatas is related to other myths linking the island to the ancient Greek goddess of love, Aphrodite, and to Odysseus, the hero of Homer's Odyssey. The German archaeologist Wilhelm Dörpfeld proposed the theory that the island of Nidri off the southwest coast of Lefkada was the real historical Ithaca, home of Odysseus.

Sappho was born into an aristocratic family, which is reflected in the sophistication of her language and the sometimes rarified environments which her verses record. References to dances, festivals, religious rites, military fleets, parading armies, generals, and ladies of the ancient courts abound in her writings. She speaks of time spent in Lydia, one of the wealthiest and most powerful countries of that time. More specifically, Sappho speaks of her friends and happy times among the ladies of Sardis, capital of Lydia, once the home of Croesus and near the gold-rich lands of King Midas.

A violent coup on Lesbos, following a rebellion led by Pittacus, toppled the ruling families from power. For many years, Sappho and other members of the aristocracy, including fellow poet Alcaeus, were exiled. Her poetry speaks bitterly of the mistreatment she suffered during those years. Much of her exile was spent in Syracuse on the island of Sicily.

Costak as a word and as a name has no meaning. Maybe it sounds a bit like Constantine (in Greek Kostak). We do not want you to have any concrete ideas about the film based on it's name. We want it to be as if it is an untitled work, a nameless piece. However as a feature film "untitled" did not sound right. We feel it has the right sound and musicality by itself if we called it "costak" and if you really force us to come up with anything... we think it is about a certain feeling of love and loss unique to Levantine ports and sleepless nights wasted on whatever passion one has. If you know what this state of mind is ... you have "Costak".

The film interweaves story of Petri the Knifer (Blade), with a police investigation of a murder suicide of an immigrant dishwasher in an unnamed North American city and a curator that is in preparation for an exhibit at a shoe museum. One of the items he is researching is a sipidik, a slipper style backless street shoe, that ruffians wear during Petri's times.

The byline of Costak the movie at the time of pre-production tells it all:"Costak...10 songs, 8 murders and a pair of slippers..."

Thursday, May 11, 2006

Sabiha Bozcali drawing for R.E.Kocu's serialized but unpublished in book form novel "Galata Canavari Bicakci Petri / Galata Monster Petri the Knife" showing Lefteri Kaptan, his crew and Petri on the far right Petri as a "Gemi Zenanesi/male lover on boat".(Below) Dancing Köçek with a tambourine.Photograph,late 19th c. Private collection.

Zenane (from Zenne) man acting in a woman's role (in a dress or with sexual behavior). In the Ottoman tradition of zenne (boys dressed up as women who sing and dance to entertain others. The köçek phenomenon is considered to be one of the most significant symbols of Ottoman Empire culture. The köçek was typically a very handsome young male rakkas, "dancer," usually dressed in feminine attire, employed as an entertainer and sex worker. Similarly derived from the Persian kuchak, "little," "small," or "young, "The köçeks (plural köçekler in Turkish) were usually children of non-Muslim peoples living under Ottoman rule. Their ranks were filled from the ethnic groups colonized by the Turks (such as the Albanians, Circassians, Balkan Slavs, Armenians, Jews, Roma, Moldavians and Greeks) since the profession was held to be below the dignity of a Muslim and thus forbidden to Muslim boys.

Tuesday, May 09, 2006

Peruz Terzekyan...Dates do fit. Could she be the "Little Peruz", a singer of cantos and a love interest of Petri.

1876 He fell in love with the bordello owner Kaloferiya's 12-13 year old daughter Peruz. He gave a valuable jewel from Lefteri Kaptan's belt to her mother, took the young girl to his Dolapdere shack and raped. Later he had her picture taken at a potrait studio. (unknown location, possibly a Pera Studio. The photo was lost.)

1880 Upon hearing rumors of a new singer named Peruz in Galata casinos, Petri with fishermen buddies from Kalikratya decided to check if she was his Little Peruz. indeed she was. Petri killed a sailor named Ahmet when he found the unlucky suitor in an amourous embrace with Peruz at the bar of Avrupa Tiyatrosu in Galata. Peruz escaped. So did Petri. Possibly police found a pair of slippers at the crime scene.

Peruz Terzekyan (b. Sivas 1866?- d. .....Istanbul) , the Kanto Singer

Started singing cantos in 1880 ies when she was almost 14. She composed her songs and was also the lyricist. Her stage life lasted until 1912. Her songs were published as "Nese-i dil ". Peruz was a pioneer with Şamiram, Baydzar, Büyük Amelya, Küçük Eleni, Virjin Avantiya, Mari Ferha and Agavni all non-muslim (mostly Armenian) canto singers.

Peruz was also credited as a lead in 1919 silent short " Fahri Bey Makarna Tenceresinde/Mr. Fahri in Pasta Pot" by Ismet Fahri Gulunc. Rusen Hakki and Gulunc himself were other actors. Gulunc directed another short film of the same year "Tombul Asigin Dört Sevgilisi/Four Darlings of Plump Lover" . The film was not completed de to a legel dispute and there were no credit records for Peruz. However we know that Peruz was really a plump woman at her youth and could be the women in this film also.

During the times of Petri there were no piers in Galata. Only in in 1879, the construction of modern piers began.

Throughout history, the Golden Horn has been the harbor of İstanbul. During the Byzantine period, piers constructed along the shores of the Golden Horn provided links to other commercial centers within the city. In subsequent periods, the Latin colonies constructed their own piers at Galata. When the Genoese began using these piers in the 13th century for trade, İstanbul became an international maritime port.

In the 17th century, Tophane was the primary port of call for foreign vessels from Europe. Then, every maritime agent had his own buoy and team of boatmen. Passengers and cargo were transported to and from the shore on caiques. But as maritime traffic got heavier and the number of passengers arriving at Istanbul increased, the need for modern piers grew. In order to satisfy this need, in 1879, the construction of modern piers began.

1891 saw the establishment of the Ottoman Pier, Warf and Warehousing Company of Constantinople with the financial support of Dupracy and Credit Lyonnais. In October 1895, the 785-meter long pier between Tophane and Karaköy was completed.

1978 | After the murder (Murder #4) in Labanon, Petri left on Captain Humberto's italian ship as a sailor. On a trip from Selanik he met Esther (Star/Yildiz) a jewish singer on her way to Pirinççi Music hall in Galata. She became his lover (kept woman) in istanbul.

Pirinççi Gazinosu | KEMANÎ TATYOS EFENDİ (1858-1913) performed with musicians like Hanende Karakaş, Tanburî Ovakim and Kanunî Şemsi at Galata's Pirinççi Gazinosu. At the beginning of the twentieth century, in the waning days of the era of modern reforms in the Ottoman Empire (1808-1918), gazino customers were Turkish intellectuals and non-Muslims of the Beyoglu district of Istanbul.

The history of the word casino reveals a transformation from a cottage to a gambling palace. The source of our word, Italian casino, is a diminutive of casa, “house.” The term originally meant a small villa, summerhouse or pavilion built for pleasure, usually on the grounds of a larger Italian villa or palazzo. There are examples of such casinos at Villa Giulia and Villa Farnese. Central to the transformation is the development of the senses of casino in Italian. The word then came to be used for a social gathering place, a room or building where one could dance, listen to music, and gamble. This last pastime seems to have gained precedence over the others, at least as far as the development of the word is concerned, and casino took on the meaning “gambling establishment.” These senses of the Italian word have all been borrowed into English, the sense “social gathering place” being recorded first in the 18th century, the sense “gambling establishment” first in 1851.

Illustrator of the Galata Canavari/Monster of Galata, article on Petri the Knifer in R. E. Kocu's Istanbul Encyclopedia

SABiHA RÜŞTÜ BOZCALI (b. istanbul 1903- d. Istanbul 1987)

Sabiha Rüştü was the daughter of Rüştü Pasha and the granddaughter of Memduh Pasha, a former Minister of the Interior. She was born in Istanbul. In those days girls never went to school, normally receiving their education from private tutors, but with the help of her uncle. Sabiha Rüştü managed to go to Italy and study to Rome, making copies of the works in the Vatican collection in order to be able to afford lessons from a famous teacher. During the Armistice period after the end of the First World War she worked in the Haiman studio in Berlin, and then studied for three year in the Munich Academy. She also worked for a year together with Namık İsmail in the Corinth studio. She contributed works to the Galatasaray exhibitions of 1922 and 1923, but these consisted entirely of sketches. She revealed herself as having a fine command of line in the style of the Western masters. “Design is the basis of all painting”.

After her return from Europe she spent the years 1926-1928 continuing to paint in her old friend Namık Ismail’s studio in the Academy of Fine Arts. At the same time she regularly contributed works to the annual exhibitions in the Galatasaray Lycee. Many years passed by in this way. As a painter she gave great importance to mirroring truth and reality in everything she painted. She visited Paris and Rome, and in 1931 she worked in Paris with the pointillist painter Paul Signac. During her three years stay in Paris she painted portraits of Signac’s wife and daughter. She was particularly successful in three types of painting: landscapes, flowers and portraits. She converted the stable of her villa at Kireçburnu into a studio and produced very large-scale paintings there. In 1 947-1949 she worked in Rome with Severini, Massimo Cam pigli, De Pisis and the founder of modern Italian painting, De Chirico.

Sabiha Bozcalı, was at the same time a highly accomplished illustrator, and for twenty-five years she contributed illustrations to the newspapers. She also illustrated works such as Nezihe Araz’s Anatolian Saints (Anadolu Evliyaları), and Yunus Emre, and made a number of designs and sketches for the Istanbul Encyclopedia edited by Reşat Ekrem Koçu.

1875 | Petri worked as a stoker for an Austrian shipping company. (Galicya Vapuru ?) there are two ships owned by Austrian Lloyd with similar names. Only one matches in dateGalatea built 1871 in service until 1908. 1,352 tonsGalicia built 1902 in 1919 transferred to Lloyd Triestino, Trieste. 2,836 tons

Lloyd Triestino was founded as Austrian Lloyd in 1836 and became one of the World's biggest shipping companies by managing most oversea trade and passenger travel of Austria-Hungary until 1918. The Austrian Lloyd was running regular services from Trieste to the Near East, India, China and the Far East, Brazil the USA and Northern Europe. It also was the first to use steam ships.

Lloyd Triestino was formed in 1919 as the successor to Lloyd Austriaco following the incorporation of Trieste into the Kingdom of Italy on January 3rd 1919. Lloyd Triestino or Triestian Lloyd is a shipping company based in Trieste, Italy.

Sunday, May 07, 2006

It is quite possible that laterna music will be included in Costak | Sources CD and will influence the soundtrack of the film.

Istanbul Laternasi: nostalgic music from the old times

According to author Cemal Unlu, the laterna traveled from Turkey to Greece in 1923. Some excerpts (edited and condensed):

The laterna, a mechanical instrument which repeated programmed melodies, first appeared in Istanbul at the end of the 19th century. This type consisted of the laterna and a "civili laterna" (laterna with pins). The civili laterna was a model developed by the Swiss Aristide Janivier in 1776.

A Leventine [one born in an eastern Mediterranean land] by the name of Guiseppe Turconi began to sell laternas which he imported from Italy to his shop in Istanbul. Naturally these laternas were programmed to play Italian melodies and waltzes. Most of the laterna masters were primarily Istanbulites who migrated to Greece after the population exchange of 1923. (Fearing Turkish reprisals, an estimated 50,000 Greeks fled Istanbul following the Asia Minor Campaign of 1919 and the Greek destruction of Turkish Smyrna (Izmir) in 1922. The Treaty of Lausanne of 1923 caused even more Greeks to flee, even though Istanbul was specifically exempt from the population exchange.) In taverns in the countryside and in Greek religious festivals, the laterna constituted the mainstay of musical entertainment, replacing performances by live musical ensembles.

In Pire, Istanbul-born Nikos Armaos dedicated his life to this instrument and was probably the greatest master of all time. Thus the Istanbul laterna came to life again in Athens, Greece. Nikos Armaos organized, collected and made new arrangements of many zeybek and kasap melodies. He added some "2,000 works, of which the majority were his own compositions that were not drawn from songs", by attaching pins. Nikos Armaos was recorded on two LP records in Greece; he died in Athens in May 1979 at the age of 90.Label reads: Giuseppe Turconi Fabricante Pianoforti Ed Cilindro 1900

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Petri pobably was a Greek Pirate on the ship of Lefteri Kaptan.The Latin term pirata -- from which the English "pirate" is derived -- derives ultimately from the Greek for "to attempt."

Pirates of Greece

The coves and small islands of Greece have long sheltered enterprising shipowners who preyed on the unwary. Sometimes, the unwary was the enemy, and the pirates became national heroes. Ship flags that once inspired fear instead inspired hope. Piracy knew no gender barriers - Spetses' Laskarina Bouboulina is a famous, and now revered, pirate turned freedom fighter. And the hopeful still search the island of Skopelos for Adrina's pirate treasure while staying at the hotel of the same name.

Often, the victim of Greek pirates was another Greek island. Paros suffered greatly from pirate attacks. Skiathos built fortresses to deter them, but still endured their depredations. On Corfu, the pirate attacks forced the inhabitants to seek Roman help, and so established the first Greek foothold for the Romans.

Greek Island CruisesSpectacular Savings on Select 2006 Sailings from Holland America.experience-hollandamerica.comTrueGreeceAn authentic, intimately luxurious Greek islands travel experience.www.truegreece.comWindstar cruisesCruise schedules, photos, ship reviews, detailed itinerarieswww.cruiseweb.comLater, pirates abducted a young Pelekas bride on her wedding day. Legend says her mother cursed the pirates, who turned into stones still visible offshore. The bride turned to stone along with them, the result of some unfortunate phrasing on the part of her mother. On the mainland near Thessaloniki, the village of Pefkohori appears to have recovered nicely from being destroyed by pirates in 1805.

Some islands became known as pirate lairs. The fortress built by one Genoese pirate Pascatore still stands at Ierapetra on Crete. Saracen pirates earlier made a base out of the interesting small island of Gavdos, where the inhabitants had to cultivate their fields secretly to avoid the enemy. Monasteries chose their locations carefully, always aware that the convenient ports and bays of small islands would be equally convenient for pirates on the attack. Want to find a monastery? Look up, as at Patmos, where hillsides made defense a little easier for the religious recluses. The threat of invasion from the sea made its mark on the architecture of the islands. Narrow pathways and twisting, winding streets were a practical deterrent to attack.

Monday, May 01, 2006

The caravel (also spelled carvel) is a light sailing ship that that was developed by the Portuguese in the late 1400's, and was used for the next 300 years. The Portuguese developed this ship to help them explore the African coast.The caravel was an improvement on older ships because it could sail very fast and also sail well into the wind (windward). Caravel planking on the hull replaced thinner, less effective planking. Caravels were broad-beamed ships that had 2 or 3 masts with square sails and a triangular sail (called a lanteen). They were up to about 65 feet long and could carry roughly 130 tons of cargo. Caravels were smaller and lighter than the later Spanish galleons (developed in the 1500's).

Two of Christopher Columbus' three ships were caravels (the Niña and the Pinta).

Source: Henry C. Murphy. The Voyage of Verrazzano: A Chapter in the Early History of Maritime Discovery in America. New York: 1875. Memorial University of Newfoundland & Government of Newfoundland and Labrador

This picture gives a good idea to certain dress codes of the time and some members wear a certain backless street shoe "yemeni / sipidik / slipper" that Petri must have used.

At the time Istanbul had no fire brigade. What it did have were tulumbaci, who would run to the scene of the fire carrying water pumps on their backs, more of a competitive sport than a public service. Each neighbourhood had its own team of firefighters. They were young men, good-looking, fast runners, and, of course, poor. The point of the competition was not putting out the fire but getting to the scene of the fire first. The sport had its own rules. A person would think twice before asking "Where’s the fire?", for fear of insult. The first proper fire brigade was set up by the Hungarian Count Szecseny, who was made a pasha in 1874, after the famous fire of Pera in 1870 when 3,000 buildings burned down.

The last surviving tulumbaci, Kemal Güleçin at Balat in Saffet's cafe playing card games like melot, prafa or pişpirik. He gets in the mood and shouts like the tulumba crew called “Tulumbacı Narası” .“Yaman gelir, yaman gideriz, Fethiyeli aslan tulumbacılarız”... “Karada aslan, denizde kaplan, var mı bize yan bakan”!